A person in Scotland is never more than 45 miles from the sea. Inhabitants, whilst seldom dipping their bodies in the waters, often have water on their minds. A compelling source of employment, inspiration and imagination through the centuries, their literature, music and theatre echo it. Their images depict it.

Proximity to the sea is one of several consistent Scottish geographic distinctions. This ‘Scottishness’, the particularities of that piece of the Earth’s surface that is currently called Scotland, has been at the core of ways of life and structures of feeling of all local cultures that flourished here. It will have impacted all artists who worked here.

Artists featured in this Curation: Lilian Strang Neilson (1938–1998), John Muirhead (1863–1927), Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963), Morris Grassie (b.1931), Joseph Henderson (1832–1908), H. P. Stirling, Colin Hunter (1841–1904), Janette Kerr (b.1957), Alexander Young (1865–1923), William Ferguson, and 16 more See all

45 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

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Rough Seas, Todhead Lighthouse 1980s–1990s
Lilian Strang Neilson (1938–1998)
Oil on board
H 20 x W 44 cm
Maggie's Dundee

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Image credit: Maggie's Dundee

A Stormy Day, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
John Muirhead (1863–1927)
Oil on canvas
H 40 x W 60 cm
Maggie's Dundee

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Sea and Snow, Catterline c.1958
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)
Oil on hardboard
H 18.2 x W 33 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Seascape (Foam and Blue Sky) 1962
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)
Oil on board
H 94 x W 167 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Muckle Meg 1953–1954
Morris Grassie (b.1931)
Oil & gesso on wood
H 76.2 x W 101.6 cm
Glasgow Life Museums

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Image credit: The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

A Northerly Breeze 1870
Joseph Henderson (1832–1908)
Oil on canvas
H 44.2 x W 74.5 cm
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

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Image credit: Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Renfrewshire Council Collections

From the Cliffs of Ailsa
Joseph Henderson (1832–1908)
Oil on canvas
H 109 x W 177 cm
Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Renfrewshire Council Collections

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Image credit: East Lothian Council

Fisherrow Harbour
H. P. Stirling
Oil on board
H 36.5 x W 47.4 cm
East Lothian Council

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Image credit: Fife Cultural Trust, on behalf of Fife Council

Their Only Harvest
Colin Hunter (1841–1904)
Oil on panel
H 51 x W 71 cm
Fife Council

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Night Sea
Janette Kerr (b.1957)
Oil on canvas
H 44 x W 40 cm
RWA (Royal West of England Academy)

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Image credit: East Lothian Council

Musselburgh
Alexander Young (1865–1923)
Oil on canvas
H 29 x W 44 cm
East Lothian Council

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Dusk at Fisherrow, Musselburgh
William Ferguson
Oil on board
H 24.2 x W 34.3 cm
Heriot-Watt University

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Passing St Kilda 2003
Frances Walker (b.1930)
Oil on panel
H 108.9 x W 153 cm
Fife Council

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Approaching St Kilda, Outer Hebrides
Jean Rodger (b.1934)
Oil on canvas
H 182 x W 152 cm
NHS Tayside

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Image credit: Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

Dornoch 1877
George Reid (1841–1913)
Oil on canvas
H 78.6 x W 110.3 cm
Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Montrose, Angus 1888
George Reid (1841–1913)
Oil on canvas
H 83.3 x W 102.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Burton Art Gallery and Museum

Kelp Gatherers 1881
Colin Hunter (1841–1904)
Oil on canvas
H 50 x W 90 cm
Burton Art Gallery and Museum

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Image credit: Perth & Kinross Council

The Naturalist 1878
Colin Hunter (1841–1904)
Oil on canvas
H 50.8 x W 91.4 cm
Perth & Kinross Council

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Image credit: National Galleries of Scotland

The Storm 1890
William McTaggart (1835–1910)
Oil on canvas
H 122 x W 183 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Shipyard Brag 1996
James S. Davis (b.1944)
Acrylic on canvas
H 99 x W 149 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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View of Craigendoran Pier c.1940
Arthur James Wetherall Burgess (1879–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 59 x W 84 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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The Loss 1990
Joyce W. Cairns (b.1947)
Oil on board
H 183 x W 122 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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Shore Patrol
Joyce W. Cairns (b.1947)
Oil on canvas
H 121.5 x W 182.2 cm
University of Strathclyde

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Trawler 1 c.1974
Sylvia Wishart (1936–2008)
Oil on canvas
H 90 x W 90 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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Woman of the North Sea
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on canvas
H 76.2 x W 51 cm
Fry Art Gallery

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The Boat Builders 1962
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on board
H 274.3 x W 488.7 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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Fishers in the Snow 1966
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on board
H 250.7 x W 326.9 cm
Scottish Parliament Art Collection

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The ‘Dawn Pearl’ in Port Seton Harbour before 2006
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on canvas
H 90 x W 90 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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Fishing Boat 1964
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on board
H 122 x W 152.6 cm
Dumfries and Galloway Council

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Image credit: Scottish Maritime Museum

On the Clyde c.1830
James Francis Williams (1785–1846)
Oil on canvas
H 40 x W 62 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum

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Working the Long Lines
James More Horsburgh (1924–2007)
Oil on panel
H 52 x W 114.5 cm
Scottish Fisheries Museum

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Hauling the Drift Nets
James More Horsburgh (1924–2007)
Oil on canvas on board
H 52 x W 114.5 cm
Scottish Fisheries Museum

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Image credit: Scottish Fisheries Museum

The Fisher Lass c.1914
John McGhie (1867–1952)
Oil on canvas
H 100 x W 121.5 cm
Scottish Fisheries Museum

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Boats on the Shore c.1963
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)
Oil on hardboard
H 101.6 x W 115.6 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Image credit: The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

On the Fife Coast 1860–1878
Samuel Bough (1822–1878)
Oil on canvas
H 35 x W 45.4 cm
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

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Image credit: Lakeland Arts

Seascape
Samuel Bough (1822–1878)
Oil on panel
H 28.5 x W 52 cm
Lakeland Arts

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Image credit: National Galleries of Scotland

Off St Andrews 1856
Samuel Bough (1822–1878)
Oil on canvas
H 36.2 x W 45.8 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Image credit: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

Ben More from Martyrs Bay, Iona c.1925
Samuel John Peploe (1871–1935)
Oil on canvas
H 63.5 x W 76 cm
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Scottish Mother and Child 2005
John Bellany (1942–2013)
Oil on canvas
H 119 x W 90 cm
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

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Skye Fisherman, in Memoriam 1989
Will Maclean (b.1941)
Oil & mixed media on board
H 129.5 x W 119.4 cm
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)

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Northern Totem 1975
Will Maclean (b.1941)
Oil & mixed media on box construction
H 66 x W 50.5 cm
Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)

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Oiled Birds, Kingskettle late 20th C
Will Maclean (b.1941)
Acrylic on canvas
H 19.3 x W 19.3 cm
Maggie's Cheltenham

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Winter, Tentsmuir
Marian Leven (b.1944)
Acrylic on board
H 20.8 x W 40.8 cm
Fife Council

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Voyage of the Anchorites 1996
Will Maclean (b.1941)
Yellow pine, MDF board, acrylic glue, acrylic paint, acrylic filler paste
H 188 x W 126 x D 10 cm
Scottish Parliament Art Collection

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